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American Tea Punch
Put into a bowl a quarter of a pound of powdered sugar, one quart of hot tea, half a pint of brandy, half a pint of Jamaica rum, and the juice of one lemon. Put it in the ice-chest to cool, and serve in wine-glasses. Probable cost, 3s. 6d.
A hot-brewed, cold-served punch of the type Victorian households kept ready in the ice-chest for evening callers. It comes together in five minutes; everything that matters happens while it chills.
- The quantities in modern termsA quarter pound of powdered sugar is 4 oz, about half a cup of caster or superfine sugar (icing sugar, with its cornflour, will cloud the bowl slightly). These are imperial measures: the quart of tea is 40 fl oz, roughly five cups, and each half-pint of brandy and Jamaica rum is 10 fl oz, roughly a cup and a quarter.
- Dissolve the sugar firstThe recipe lists the sugar before the spirits, and hot tea will dissolve it completely where a cold punch leaves grit at the bottom of the bowl. Stir until the liquid is clear before the brandy and rum go in.
- Brew the tea strongSpirit makes up about a third of the finished volume, and it and the citrus both flatten tea flavour. Use a robust black tea at roughly double your drinking strength, and do not oversteep past about five minutes or the tannin will turn harsh as it cools.
- Jamaica rum means dark rumA Victorian cook meant a heavy, funky pot-still Jamaican rum, not a light or white one. A dark or overproof Jamaican rum is the closest match and carries the drink; a neutral white rum leaves it thin.
- The ice-chestAn ice-chest held food cooler than the room but warmer than a modern refrigerator, and temperatures varied a good deal from chest to chest. Chill the punch several hours until thoroughly cold, then serve without ice so it is not diluted; the recipe says nothing about icing the glasses.
- Yield and strengthAbout 60 imperial fl oz, or roughly twenty small wine-glasses. With a full pint of spirits in the bowl it is stronger than it tastes cold; the small glass is deliberate.
- LemonOne lemon for the whole bowl is restrained by modern punch standards. Taste after chilling and add a second lemon's juice if the sugar dominates.
Punch in the British sense long predated this book, arriving with East India Company traders and traditionally built on the five elements of spirit, sugar, citrus, water and spice; tea punches substitute brewed tea for the plain water and add its tannin and aroma. What makes this one "American" in Cassell's eyes is not explained in the book itself, though the recipe pairs brandy with Jamaica rum and is served cold in small glasses rather than as a steaming bowl passed round the table, a style associated with the American bar trade of the later nineteenth century, when iced mixed drinks were a recognised transatlantic export. The costing in shillings and pence is a standard feature of Cassell's, which priced nearly every entry so a housekeeper could budget; the 3s. 6d. is not itemised. Jamaican rum reached British kitchens in quantity through the same colonial trade that made cheap sugar available, and its heavy, distinctive character is why so many Victorian punch recipes name the island rather than simply calling for rum.